Tie rod ends are often employed as components of vehicles and other equipment. In one particular application, a tie rod end is employed as part of a vehicle's suspension system to facilitate attachment of a vehicle's tie rod to a wheel spindle or king pin of the vehicle. An example of a conventional tie rod end 10 is depicted in FIG. 1 to include a first member 12 and a second member 14. The first member 12 has a threaded end 16 and an opposite end 18 disposed along a first longitudinal axis L1. The opposite end 18 is shown to comprise at least a portion of a pivot ball joint 19. The second member 14 has a proximal end 20 and a distal end 22 disposed along a second longitudinal axis L2. The proximal end 20 of the second member 14 interfaces the pivot ball joint 19, wherein the opposite end 18 and the proximal end 20 are pivotally attached through the pivot ball joint 19 such that the first member 12 and the second member 14 are pivotally attached together, and such that the distal end 22 of the second member 14 is pivotable between limit positions with respect to the threaded end 16 of the first member 12. A seal 15 can be provided to prevent dirt and moisture from accessing the pivot ball joint 19. Although the threaded end 16 of the first member 12 is shown to be of a type having internal threads (e.g., for receiving an externally threaded end of a tie rod), alternative conventional tie rod ends can have a first member which includes external threads (e.g., as present upon the distal end 22). Likewise, although the distal end 22 of the second member 14 is shown to have external threads (e.g., for penetrating an aperture in a wheel spindle or king pin), alternative conventional tie rod ends can have a second member which includes internal threads (e.g., as present within the threaded end 16).
In many applications, such as when used in vehicular steering systems, tie rod ends are subjected to significant impact loading. Accordingly, when selecting a tie rod end for use with a particular piece of equipment (e.g., an automobile or all terrain vehicle), it is important that a tie rod end of adequate toughness is selected. If a tie rod end of inadequate toughness is selected, the tie rod end can be prone to premature failure, thereby resulting in catastrophic failure of the associated equipment. However, conventional methods and apparatuses do not allow for adequate testing of tie rod ends to ensure their ability to exhibit a predetermined amount of impact toughness. As such, there is a need for improved methods and apparatus which can be easily and inexpensively employed to facilitate impact testing of a tie rod end.